


Meet in the Middle

by EchoRho



Series: The Agent and The Sentinel [3]
Category: Anthem (Video Game)
Genre: Brin is Brin, But Knox isn't, But the boys are working on it, M/M, Max is scary, Patching things up, Same-Sex Marriage, That has issues, Vule is straight-laced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 10:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20776904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoRho/pseuds/EchoRho
Summary: Knox finally makes it to Fort Tarsis and the boys try to heal the marriage.





	Meet in the Middle

**Author's Note:**

> My mom (a professional writer and historian) is my beta reader, so any errors are my own made in edits after her read through. Many thanks, Ma!
> 
> Bioware has only told us that Knox is married to Sev & is a Sentinel. Everything else about him is strictly my headcannon.  
All characters, locations, etc., belong to Bioware. I'm just grateful to be allowed to play in their sandbox a little.

Knox stepped out into the sunshine, squinting. After being cooped up in the grimy interior of the strider for days, the warmth of sunshine on his skin and the feeling of fresh air in his lungs were very welcome.

He ran his hands over the high-and-tight brown hair on the top of his head, then shaded his blue eyes and peered down the path to assess which direction to head in. Satisfied that he had spotted the way to proceed, he grabbed his duffel bag and hoisted it on his shoulder. “Thanks for the ride, sir!” he called out, waving to the driver.

“Thank _you_, Sentinel!” the driver hollered back, “We’d have been cooked without your help. Owe ya’ a drink!”

Knox grinned at the man. “Just keep my javelin safe until we’re ready for the return trip and we’ll call it even.”

“Fair enough! You got it,” the man replied with a thumbs-up before turning to chew out one of his crewmen for dropping the crate he was unloading.

Knox turned and headed down the walkway. At the checkpoint, he showed his credentials to the waiting bureaucrat. He waited while she looked over his papers.

“Oh, Sentinel!” she said, a bit surprised. Knox just nodded. “Everything is in order,” the woman continued. “Do you have any questions?”

“Yes, I need directions to the Sentinel headquarters. I should check in with the local commander—Vule, I believe?—before anything else.”

“Of course,” she replied briskly. “Once down the stairs, just go straight through the marketplace, though the hall of murals, past the fountain courtyard, and up the flight of stairs at the end. Commander Vule’s office will be on your left at the top of the stairs.”

_Of course, the HQ would be on the other side of the damn fort,_ thought Knox, internally rolling his eyes. Externally, he thanked the official for her assistance and efficiency. He then proceeded down the stairs and straight on to his destination.

The walk was not as long as he feared. Fort Tarsis was so much smaller than Antium, you could probably fit the whole thing in the space of the royal grounds and government buildings. It was a pleasant walk, though. People talked, debated, and laughed all around. There were children playing by the fountain and someone flinging a few breadcrumbs to the colorful fish swimming lazily around the pond. The sun was bright and the smells around him evoked a bustling populace, going about their lives. Not unpleasant–just the musky scent of sweat, the crisp sting of pipe smoke, the occasional savory smell of the cooking tables. While not as clean as Antium, everything seemed remarkably well-maintained for being this far out.

He mentally snapped back to the business at hand as he approached the stairway up. He turned to the left and saw an older, rigid man with dark skin and darker eyes–eyes that looked sharp as a wyvern’s. Knox figured they didn’t miss much. This must be Commander Vule.

Vule turned towards the younger man and Knox snapped a salute immediately. “Commander! Sentinel Knox of Antium Third Patrol Regiment, checking in as ordered,” he barked, keeping his posture at attention and his eyes carefully focused to the middle distance.

“Hmm,” replied Vule, seemingly unimpressed as he evaluated the man saluting him. Knox had not felt this level of scrutiny since he was a raw recruit. He had to admit, it unnerved him a bit.

“Lieutenant Knox, correct?” Vule continued in his rich baritone, still not having returned the salute. “One of Commander Castus’ men?

“Yes, Sir!” replied Knox, sharply.

Vule set his piercing gaze on Knox’s face. Apparently satisfied with what he found there, he finally returned the salute. Knox dropped his arm gratefully, then pulled out his papers.

Before he could get a word in edgewise, though, Vule raised his hand in a gesture to indicate he should stop. “I received communications from Castus this morning. You have your javelin with you?”

“Yes, sir. He permitted me to bring it in case it was needed. It turned out it was needed–to defend the strider on the way. We were attacked by scars once, and outlaws a few times.”

Vule nodded solemnly. “Good man. Castus is one of hell of an officer. I would expect no less from his men.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Commander Castus is an excellent Commander. I’m proud to serve under him.”

“Castus did not indicate the full nature of your visit, however. May I inquire as to what your purpose is here?”

Knox groaned internally. _Of course the Commander would use this opportunity to make another Commander sweat bullets. Vule’s probably afraid I’m here to do a covert evaluation of the fort’s security. No wonder Castus let me take my javelin so readily._ He steeled himself to try to navigate this tessilar nest as carefully as he could.

“My purpose here is strictly personal, sir. I am ready to aid in defense of the fort, if needed, of course. But I am officially on leave to visit with my husband, who is stationed here.”

Surprise briefly flashed in the Commander’s eyes, but was tamped down quickly. “I see. I was not aware that any of my Sentinels had a husband back in Antium,” Vule probed cautiously.

_Great, now the Commander thinks one of his men is spying on this garrison for the empire. Way to go, Knox— let’s try that again._

“I’m not aware of any such, either, sir. My husband is not a Sentinel. He’s with Corvus.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized that they probably did not improve things much—at least not for him. _Well, Vule’s men are off the hook, but he probably thinks I’m here to spy on him even more. Great._ Knox mentally sighed as the situation seemed to be mildly hopeless.

“Corvus? Hmm,” came Vule’s reply as he turned away with a frown. “The only Corvus agents that I am aware of in the fort right now are Tassyn and a man working for her by the name of Sev.” That last name was said with some distain.

Knox couldn’t help but think, _Damnit, Sev, did you do something to piss off the garrison Commander here? You couldn’t warn me, maybe?_

Somehow, he managed to tamp down the aggravation boiling up within him and answer the Commander evenly. “Sev is my husband, sir. I’m here to speak with him.”

His phrasing seemed to catch Vule’s attention. The Commander turned to face him again, his gaze predatorily sharp. “Speak with him?”

Knox flushed as he realized his mistake. He lowered his gaze and swallowed the lump in his throat. “We … had some issues that had us separated and not speaking for a while. We’ve been corresponding and are trying to work things out. That’s why I’m here. To try to save my marriage.” That last sentence was practically whispered, as his composure was beginning to break. He blinked a few times to try to keep the tears that were forming at bay.

However, the display seemed to have convinced Vule he was telling the truth. The man’s gaze was still hard, but not as hard as it had been moments before. “Very well. I am sure this has been quite difficult on you. I wish you success. And hopefully your influence will improve him,” he finished with a derisive sniff. “Take your paperwork over to Sentinel Brin, across the way. She’ll make sure everything is in order and will arrange for maintenance on your javelin, if needed.”

“Thank you, sir. Um, do you happen to know where I might find Sev? I’d told him I’d find him as soon as I checked in.”

Vule’s expression was one of distain. “Yes, you’ll find him in the bar. I don’t know how he gets anything done. He hardly leaves the place.”

Knox stifled his grin. Sev liked to conduct business in the dark corners of bars. It allowed him a place where he could meet with his contacts safely, but not be noticed. And it made most people think he was just an unimportant lush. Anonymity in the open, Sev called it. He could see that the Commander thought of his husband just the way Sev wanted him to. Too bad the Commander couldn’t see it himself.

“Um, thank you, sir. Which bar?”

“There’s only one bar in Fort Tarsis. It’s down the stairs and to the left, then down the next set of stairs on your left.” Vule looked positively soured at the thought of the place, “But see Sentinel Brin first.”

“Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.” Knox saluted the Commander.

Vule returned the salute immediately “Dismissed,” he said as he turned back to his paperwork.

Knox picked up his duffel and walked across the way. He found Sentinel Brin in a space crowded with plants, equipment, and paperwork.

“Can I help you?” she asked slowly. Her expression made him wonder if she was not used to anyone invading her space.

He presented his paperwork to her. “Sentinel Knox of Antium. I’m on leave, but was ordered to check in upon arrival.”

“Oh. You chose Fort Tarsis for leave?” she asked, incredulous.

He barely stifled a laugh at her tone. “My husband is here. I’m visiting.”

“Really?” she still seemed astonished that anyone would be in Fort Tarsis by choice, “O.K. If you say so.”

She took his paperwork without any additional questions. Knox had expected her to ask about his husband, and that he would have to go though his explanations again, but she didn’t say a word as she began to take down the information she needed.

“And, since you have your javelin with you, I’ll need to know where you are staying in case we need to get a hold of you,” she finally commented, without looking up from her paperwork.

“Oh. Uh …,” Knox fidgeted uncomfortably. Brin looked up at him with a puzzled expression. “Well, I guess it depends.”

“It depends?” Brin squinted at him.

“Well, I may need to stay in the barracks,” he said, flushing a bit.

“You’re here to see your husband, but you’re staying in the barracks?” she looked like she was beginning to doubt his stated purpose for the visit. Or his sanity.

“Well … we’re trying to patch things up. If it goes well, I guess I’ll be staying with him. But I can’t really say. Even if goes O.K., I might not stay with him. We might have to take this in small steps, you know?” Knox was really hoping he would never have to have a conversation this uncomfortable again.

“No, I don’t,” Brin replied, “Thank the Shapers for that. Well, what’s your husband’s name, so we can locate you if we don’t find you in the barracks.”

“Sev,” he replied, swallowing nervously.

“The Corvus agent?” she asked with utter disbelief.

“Yes,” Knox sighed.

“Wow. That can’t be easy. All kinds of tension there.”

“Yeah,” Knox said with a bit of a groan. He was beginning to think that subtlety and diplomacy were not two of the female Sentinel’s strong points.

“O.K.,” Brin said and made more notations on her paperwork. “All set.” She handed his identification papers back to him and turned to file her documents.

“Thanks,” he said to her back as he started to turn. She didn’t appear to have heard him.

Sighing, he made his way down to the bar, following the commander’s directions.

_ Well,_ he thought wryly, _everything’s off to a great start already._

Once down the stairs from Sentinel Headquarters, he turned left into an alleyway. After a short distance, he found another set of stairs. As he descended the stairs from the alleyway, he saw they ended at a set of gold-embroidered red curtains with some small tables and chairs just outside and to his right. Although the weather was pleasant, the small seating area was unoccupied at the moment. Knox reflected that Sev would never be out in the sunlight, unfortunately. He’d be in the darkest corner of the bar he could find. So, he proceeded onward.

Once past the curtains, he stopped to survey the bar for a moment. The bar itself was immediately in front of him. A long oval of intricate tile work, it was surrounded by tall chairs and chatting patrons. A team of bartenders and servers staffed the center. The floor around it was scattered with artfully woven rugs and low tables with pillows to sit on (although some of the patrons were sitting on the tables, he noticed.) Pierced metalwork lamps, colorful strings of sparkling glass beads, and tassels hung all over. Along the outer edges, on both sides, beyond rows of arched columns, were alcoves that were partially curtained off and capped by stamped metalwork.

It was not the nicest bar Knox had been to, but it wasn’t a dive, he reflected. _Certainly better than the last one you were in,_ he thought, cringing at that particular memory—and the one of the morning after. He sighed, trying to clear his head of those thoughts. _One disaster at time, Knox, boy._

He moved further into the bar, looking for Sev. When he found him, it seemed Sev had found him first. He was staring at him with what Knox could only read as desperate longing in his pale green eyes and seemed rooted to the spot. Damn, Knox knew that feeling. He couldn’t resist a shy smile at seeing his husband again, frozen in place for a moment.

He finally willed his legs to carry him over to the agent standing along the back wall, cup in hand.

“Hey,” he said quietly, as if speaking above a whisper would shatter the moment.

Before Sev could reply, one of the servers came up and handed him another cup, but didn’t take the one he was already holding. Sev tore his gaze from Knox and thanked the waiter, a bit nervously. Knox realized then that his husband must have spotted him as soon as he entered and had ordered the drink for him.

Sev turned to the younger man and held out the drink he had just received. “Hello, beautiful,” the agent said quietly a with a shy smile, repeating the first words he had ever said to the man in front of him.

The Sentinel broke into a wide grin. “Sev,” he huffed out on laugh, “You are such a sap.” He took the cup from his husband, letting their fingers brush. He didn’t miss the sharp intake of breath the older man took upon feeling the contact.

“I know. I just can’t help it,” Sev replied, “It’s … so good to see you again.”

Knox’s expression gentled. “Yeah. You too.” He took a swallow of the drink, some kind of ale, and his face immediately scrunched up, eyes almost closed and glaring down at the mug as if it had committed some horrible offence against him. 

Sev chuckled sympathetically. “I know. Bad, innit? About the best you’ll find in this shithole, though,” he said with a grin.

“Please tell me you have something better laid up at your place,” Knox said automatically, without thinking of the implications. He saw his husband’s eyes go a little wide with hope, for a moment.

“I wish I could say I did,” the agent replied, “But it’s hard to get anything of quality out here. Except company, now that you’re here.”

_Damn, he really is a sap,_ Knox thought. Although he found he actually didn’t mind at the moment. He cleared his throat, and shot a smirk at the older man. “Really, Sev?”

“Well, it’s true! Consider who else I’ve had for company. Tassyn?” he made a dismissive noise and shook his head, “Some of the Freelancers are alright, though.”

“Oh?” Knox quirked an eyebrow at that.

“Aye. One of them recently welcomed me to the “Sexy Bad Choices Club” when I told her I was on the outs with my husband,” he said with a wave of his glass. ”Told her there was nothing sexy about my bad choices. Especially to you,” he ended sadly.

“You … spoke to people about us?” Knox asked, suddenly a bit upset and half-choking on the swig he was taking.

“Only to a couple of Freelancers. The one who silenced the Heart of Rage. You heard about that, yeah?” Knox nodded. “Helped me pull my head out of my arse and get up the stones to apologize to you. And then there’s Rythe. She just wanted a drinking buddy. She was the one who welcomed me to the club.”

Knox stifled his anger and jealousy, reminding himself he had no right to go there. “O.K.,” he sighed, downing the last of his drink. “You know, if we’re going to talk about … us. We should … probably not do it here.”

“You’re right. If you’re O.K. with it, I’ve got a little apartment down the way. It’s not much, but it does just fine by me.”

“Sure. Lead the way,” Knox said as he grabbed up his duffel bag.

On the way out, they dropped their cups on the bar and were turning to leave when a woman leaning on the inside of the bar addressed them. “Well, Sev, you _are_ branching out. First you sit down and drink with Rythe, now you’ve found someone else to drink with. Not becoming sociable, are you?” the woman sneered with a dangerous twinkle in her eyes and a smirk that looked like it could be a permanent fixture on her face. 

Sev chuckled and ran one hand over his close-cropped red hair, a bit self-consciously. “Oh, no worries ‘bout that, Max. This is my husband, Knox.”

The younger man extended his hand, but the woman made no move to take it. Instead, she eyed him up and down for a moment, then said, “An agent married to a Sentinel. How’d that happen, I wonder?”

Knox was a little taken aback that she could tell he was a Sentinel, as he was currently out of uniform. She was making him a bit uncomfortable, so he thought to deflect with humor. He lowered his hand and shrugged. “The sex was great,” he told her, with a smirk.

Her expression immediately went dark enough to make an ursix cower. “I’m going trust that you’re just being flippant with me. ‘Cause it takes a hell of a lot more than great sex to keep a marriage going. If you boys don’t know that, you might as well pack it in, ‘cause you don’t have what it takes.”

The Sentinel gaped at her and took a step back. Then he looked over at his husband, who had lowered his gaze. “I … think we’ve learned that, ma’am. Or, maybe still are,” he admitted with as much solemnity as he could muster, “I think it’s fair to say we’re both willing to work at it.” Sev looked up at him with hope in his eyes.

“You’d best be,” she growled, “ Takes a lot of work. Constant work.” Knox felt she had the air of one who knows.

“Yes, ma’am,” he acknowledged.

“Here, Max.” Sev fished in his pocket for some coins.

The bar owner waved him off. “Nah, on the house this time.”

The agent raised an eyebrow. “You not going all soft on us after that little dressing down, are you?”

She huffed, “Not a chance. Way I figure it, you two manage to work out whatever your issues are, I get a new customer. If you don’t, you’ll be buying more drinks to drown your sorrows. Either way, I’m coming out ahead. Now go on with you.” With that, she raised herself up from the bar and walked away without a second glance.

Once outside, Knox let Sev take the lead. “Damn, she’s scary,” he noted of the woman they had just spoken to.

“You have no idea,” Sev said with a shake of his head, “Max owns the bar. She has some pretty deep Regulator connections, too.”

“What!?”

“Relax. I’m pretty sure Vule knows and is keeping an eye on her,” Sev drawled, seemingly unconcerned. “And I know Tassyn knows. And she’s certainly not ordered any action on it.”

Knox shot his husband a dubious look.

“Actually, the compounds merchant in the markets has Regulator connections, too. I heard something to the effect that she and Max are related in some manner. Believe it or not, it’s actually right handy knowing someone with those connections out here, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. I’m pretty sure even the Sentinels around here have gotten some supplies from Max on occasion—Vule may be a pain in the arse, but he’s a practical man.”

“Yeah,” Knox noted, dragging the word out into three syllables, “He doesn’t seem to think much of you.”

“Hah!” barked Sev, “He thinks I’m a drunkard. He’s a practical man, but a bit straight-laced.”

“What,” teased Knox, “You don’t think I’m straight-laced?”

The older man peered over his shoulder with a smirk, “I’ve seen all your laces, love. I’d say they’re pretty curly.” He shot a wink at the Sentinel and turned back ahead.

Knox chuckled with a shake of his head and continued to follow his husband through a small maze of narrow alleys. He had to admit to admiring the view along the way. Sev was shorter than the Sentinel, and while both men were muscular, Sev was bulkier than Knox. It brought to mind the description one of his barracks-mates had expressed: _Built like a brick shithouse,_ Anders had said. Knox had to admit, it may not be to everyone’s taste, but he liked his husband’s powerful build.

Close to the outer wall, they arrived at a stamped metal door. It looked like dozens of others they had seen along the way.

“Well, this is it,” Sev said, unlocking the door and stepping aside to allow the Sentinel to enter first.

The apartment beyond was small. It was also blessedly cooler than the outside. Small nooks with bookshelves were immediately to the left and right of the door. Ahead was a seating area and a galley kitchen. On the far wall were a set of stairs going up to the loft that was, effectively, the bedroom. There was a narrow door on the ground floor, under the loft.

“Um, well …” Sev was fidgeting nervously. It was adorable. “Would you like some tea? I don’t really have much to eat, but we can get something from out in the market …”

Knox set his duffel down by the small couch and turned to his husband, cutting him off. “Tea would be great. But a shower would be better, if you don’t mind. I was penned up in that oily, filthy strider for days.”

“Oh, sure, yeah. I’ll put on the kettle. The bathroom’s there.” The older man pointed to the narrow door. “It’s pretty cramped, but it gets the job done.”

Knox just nodded and pulled a change of clothes and his toiletries from his duffel and headed for the shower. It was, indeed, cramped. The shower was just large enough for one person to shower comfortably in, and there was barely enough room to turn around in the rest of the bathroom. He fired up the shower and stepped under the tepid spray. It. Was. Heaven.

Despite how magnificent the rushing water felt, years of being in the Sentinel corps left him in the habit of taking quick showers. He was clean and out of the shower in short order, then he dried himself and dressed briskly.

By the time he left the bathroom, the tea was done steeping and his husband was pouring some for them both. “Hey,” Sev said, “Would you do us a favor and leave the fan on in there a bit? Gets all musty in there if you don’t do that.”

“Sure,” Knox replied, reaching back in and turning on the fan.

A warm mug was pressed into his hands when he turned back. “Thanks,” the redhead said to him, with a smile. The younger man smiled back and his heart warmed at the domesticity of it all. _I have missed this,_ he reflected as he took a sip of the tea.

Hesitantly, Sev sat down on the small couch and indicated for Knox to sit in a nearby chair. The younger man stared at his husband for a moment, then sat down on the couch right next to him. He saw the older man smile around the rim of his mug.

“So …,” Sev started, not seeming to know where to go next.

“Did you really mean it, Sev? You’ll do better? You’ll talk to me? Tell me everything I need to know? You won’t lie to me?” His voice had started out soft, but became a little harsher with each progressive question.

The other man flinched, then turned and looked at him with such sincerity, it made Knox ache. “I do. I mean every word. I … I don’t regret going after the Escari, but I fully regret lying to you. I shouldn’t have dragged you into it—”

“Hey,” Knox said, putting down his mug on the table and cradling his husband’s face in his hands, “You can ‘drag me into’ these things anytime. We’re partners, here, Sev. Just _tell me the truth_. If you’d have given me all the facts, we might’ve been able to come up with a solution together that worked without almost costing us our jobs.”

The older man set his mug on the table, grabbed Knox’s wrists and lowered his hands. “What could we have done?”

“Well …” Knox said, sitting back and thinking, “I could have … scheduled a patrol for that area. That way it would look like we just stumbled upon the Escari.”

His husband chuffed a dismissive noise. “You know damn well a regular patrol can’t take down an Escari. They’d have been slaughtered. And, if you scheduled it, Corvus would figure out real fast that I gave you the info. Which I wasn’t supposed to do.”

The younger man shrugged, “Then I would have chatted up some Arcanists to see if there was anything they were interested in out that way. Or found some other legitimate reason for the patrol. And if a patrol finds something like that, their standing orders are to retreat and report back so an action can be properly planned. They wouldn’t just take it on. And I could have probably gotten Drinna to schedule the patrol on her own—especially if I just happened to leave something lying around that indicated a threat might be out there which could put a pretty big feather in the cap of the one who bagged it,” he finished with a grin.

His husband laughed at that. “You know, I’m beginning to think I’ve been a terrible influence on you,” he said with a grin.

Knox’s smile broadened. “I think you are absolutely correct, sir.”

“Cheeky bugger.”

“You love it.”

Sev’s expression suddenly became very serious. “I love you. And I want to make this work.”

Knox knew at this moment that he probably had a ridiculously sappy expression on his face. “Me too, Sev.”

“So, if I’d have told you the truth, you still would have gone after the Escari?” The older man asked.

“Of course. You were right—it needed to be taken care of. And we’re partners here, Sev. We support each other. But to do this right, it’s going to take being honest.”

“You’re right, of course. I’m … shite, I know I’ve said it a hundred times already, but I really am sorry. And I’ve learned my lesson.”

“I believe you.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, both uncertain and nervous. _Shit,_ thought Knox, _this is more nerve-wracking than our first kiss._ Then he recalled that he wasn’t exactly sober when they first kissed, either. That had probably helped.

Right then, Sev reached up and wrapped a hand around the back of Knox’s neck, pulling him down into a kiss. Knox could feel a tremor in the hand at his nape and knew they were both scared. He leaned into the kiss, hoping to let Sev know how deeply he felt about making this right.

The kiss started hesitant and gentle, but didn’t stay that way. A soft groan worked its way up the back of the younger man’s throat and his husband brought his free arm up around Knox’s back to press him closer. Sev twisted to lean back onto the arm of the couch. Knox could feel them both responding to the increased intensity and he leaned more fully against Sev, bracing his hands on the arm of the couch.

They broke apart for air and Sev began to nibble and kiss his way down his partner’s jaw and throat. Knox groaned his delight.

“You know,” Sev said, still kissing his way across the landscape of the younger man’s body, “We really should probably move this up to the bed.”

It suddenly occurred to Knox that they were not done with things to discuss, remembering his own indiscretion. It was more effective than a bucket of cold water. “I … uh. Wait …” he gasped, pushing back from his husband.

“Oh,” Sev looked worried, “sorry. Too soon?”

“No, no, that’s not …” Knox sighed and ran a hand over his hair nervously. “Just, well … I’ve, um, recently been reminded that neither of us is perfect.”

“You are completely perfect,” his husband interrupted.

“Shit, don’t put that on me, Sev …,” the younger man groaned.

“You are t—”

“No, I’m not. I’m really not. And I screwed up.” Knox found he couldn’t look the man next to him in the eyes. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the upcoming conversation.

“I … had a really bad day. It was actually the day before your apology arrived.” Knox had to pause to swallow the lump forming in his throat. “We … had a really bad patrol. We lost some Sentinels. _I_ lost some Sentinels. And I was still mad at you. I didn’t want to go home. I think I was mad that you wouldn’t be there to make me feel better, like you always could. To comfort me, you know? And I had been afraid lately … that this was over. I couldn’t face going to the barracks, not after losing some of my squad. So, I went to a bar. That dive down by the east wall, you know? And I had a few too many.”

Knox felt his chest tighten and he could barely breathe. “And I took someone home,” he whispered, fully ashamed.

There was dead silence for a moment, then Sev spoke. “Home? To our apartment?”

“Yes.” _Oh, Shapers, he’s gonna kick me out and tell me never come back._ Panic was crawling up Knox’s belly.

“Our bed?”

“Yes.” He felt the other man get up from the couch and heard him pacing the short length of the galley.

Heated silence filled the space between them. When it almost reached the point where Knox couldn’t stand it anymore, his husband’s terse voice sounded, “Please just tell me it wasn’t on the grey sheets.”

“Oh, for star’s sake! No, it wasn’t on the damn grey sheets, O.K.?” Knox threw up his arms and finally looked at the man standing in the kitchen. “I’ll burn the glitching sheets when I get home, alright?”

Sev looked every bit as hurt as Knox was afraid of. But he saw something else deep in the man’s green eyes. Guilt?

The brunette sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Look, Sev, if I’m asking you to tell me the truth so I can trust in you, then you deserve the same from me. I admit it—I screwed up. And I won’t do it again. Not … now that I know that it isn’t over. That we can work on this.” He was pleading with the older man.

Sev shook his head and ran his right hand over it. “It’s all my fault anyway.”

“What? How do you figure that?”

“If I hadn’ta screwed up … If I had told you the truth to begin with, we wouldn’t have been separated. And … you never would have been driven into someone else’s arms,” the answer came weakly.

“Oh, Sev …” Knox stood up and walked over to rest his arms on his husband’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t ‘drive me into someone else’s arms’. I made a bad choice. And, honestly, I made myself sick once I realized what I’d done. I’m sorry.”

“You sure you want me back, then?” The agent swallowed thickly, “You wouldn’t rather be with them?”

“Of course not!” Knox lifted the other man’s chin up so he could look him in the eyes, “I love you, Sev.” He dropped his own gaze in shame and continued, “And, to be honest, I don’t even know who this guy was. I probably wouldn’t recognize him if he literally ran into me on the street. He meant nothing. Nothing but a monumental lapse in judgment.” He sighed heavily.

Finally, he felt his husband’s arms come up around him. He dropped his head until their foreheads were touching. They stayed that way for a while just being and breathing together.

Finally, Sev cleared his throat and asked, “Well, um, when you … you know … did you … I mean … were you …”

Knox realized what the other man was actually asking and his cheeks went a bit pink. “I topped, if that’s what you want to know. Even drunk off my ass, I couldn’t let another man … be where only you had ever been.”

“O.K.” Sev seemed relieved, “That’s good to know.” A bit of a possessive flash shone in his eyes then. “I still kind of want to know who he is. I’m thinking a few hours in a Corvus cell might be good for him.”

“Sev!” Knox admonished his husband with a light punch on the shoulder. “Besides, it’s probably not necessary. I’d be surprised if he’s not seeing Corvus agents in every shadow and having paranoid episodes all over the place.”

The shorter man looked up at him with a quizzical expression. “Why?”

“Um, well, I had that picture of us that we had taken up on the northern wall last spring sitting on my bedside table. In the morning, he saw it and asked who you were. I told him you were my husband and that you were with Corvus,” Knox said, a bit sheepishly.

Sev’s eyes widened a bit. “Oh, aye?”

“He couldn’t get dressed and out the door fast enough after that,” the younger man chuckled.

“I’ll bet!”

Knox took a step back and let his arms drop. “Look, Sev, if you don’t want to do this … I understand. I can sleep in the barracks and we can see each other tomorrow. Talk some more. Maybe you can give me a tour of the fort?” He asked hopefully.

“Wha—You don’t want to stay here? With me?” The older man sounded hurt.

“No! I do! I just … I’d understand if you don’t want me to stay. But I am hoping you _do_ want me to stay.” He reached out again, this time simply taking his husband’s hands.

“Of course I want you to stay. I’ve missed you something fierce, you know?” Sev pulled the younger man in towards him.

“Yeah, I’ve missed you, too. You know, there are times I’ve wondered the same thing Max asked – How did a Sentinel and a Corvus agent wind up married?”

“Any revelations on that?” the man in front of him asked.

“I dunno. We get each other, I think. What’s important to us is the same. I guess we both want to help people and protect them, in our own ways. We come at it from different directions, which can cause some … misunderstandings, but I guess we just have to learn to meet in the middle, huh?”

“I like that,” Sev replied, kissing his husband lightly, “Yeah, I figure we can do that. Meet in the middle.”


End file.
